Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Within the scripture of John 21, “Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish”, the Bible tells us how Jesus instructed his disciples to cast their nets on the right side of the boat while fishing in the Sea of Galilee. They had been fishing all night with no luck but in the morning, when they listened to Jesus’ instruction, they made a great catch.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. – John 21:6

There are a few ways to look at this scripture. The first way is simple, yet powerful: Listen to Jesus. Follow his teaching and commands. When you do this, the rewards will be tremendous.

Another way to look at this scripture is symbolically. The boat could possibly symbolize the church at its constant struggling state. It holds the people together but some fishermen are not fishing correctly or even at all. The net may represent the Gospel which is constantly being thrown out into unknown depths to fish for men. Jesus’s command of preaching the Gospel under his direction is followed by the blessing of a successful catch.

Are we fishing for men the way that we are instructed to? Are we casting the net in the direction that Jesus directs us? Are the nets that we throw out without rips and holes big enough for potential catches to slip through? Is the boat that we stand in stable and strong enough to handle the load of a great catch?

If you want to dig deeper in to this, I suggest reading an article that I’ve found. It breaks everything down for a different way of thinking on why Jesus told his disciples to throw their nets on the right side.

“Notice that the text emphasizes throwing the net onto the right side of the boat. The right side, or our intuitive side of the brain, is what we must engage to birth the Christ within. This is also the side of the brain that is affected in meditation and when we go within. In order to draw in a multitude of new growth, of higher emotions and thoughts, we must engage the right side of the brain, which also signifies the outgoing energy of the Christ within.”